Michigan Gambled on Charter School

Mark Binelli’s article explores the impact of extending charter schools on children. In an attempt to solve Michigan’s inequalities in the education system, free-market boosters such as Besty DeVos proposed a dramatic expansion of charter schools. The approach considered the changes in supply and demand alongside consumer choices as methods of improving the quality of education for students. However, as opposed to the authorities’ expectations, the approach has worsened the educational environment in the state. Based on the Brookings Institution study of national test scores, Michigan was ranked the last in improving students’ proficiency. Notably, the lack of education sector regulation in Michigan led to the rapid growth of the education sector. Inferring to Miron’s count, Michigan recorded 184 charter schools, exceeding the number recorded in other states in the US by 2000. The increment of the schools stiffened competition for students and money. Schools could increase the number of students to attain money, a fact that has highly impacted educational performance in the state. For instance, George Washington Carver Academy is one of the schools in Michigan that is facing many challenges due to the states’ approach. The school is struggling in paying a real estate debt that arose from its expansion. An in-depth study of the contract that led to such a debt reveals property price inflation. Therefore, Michigan’s current education system problems are attributed to the poor approach of expansion of chartered schools.

Response

Having gone through Mark Binelli’s article, I realized that Michigan’s current education system is facing many challenges that were mainly brought about by its deregulation. For instance, the number of schools exceeds the available students. This has contributed to the wastage of resources, as instructors are underutilized. It would have been better if the state authorities regulated the extension program and controlled the number of schools. In that regard, resources could have been concentrated on a few schools, thereby improving the quality of learning.

Moreover, the quality of education offered in Michigan Chartered schools is poor compared to other states. This is depicted by Michigan’s appearance among the lowest states in terms of improvement of student performance. Such an issue may have been caused by chartered schools’ much interest in the funding per student as opposed to the quality of learning. I consider the approach to have changed the goals of schools in Michigan. The leaders in the institutions focus on gaining much from the school at the cost of quality of education. The state needs to redefine the goals of schools by emphasizing service provision to learners.

I also noted that most schools are struggling to pay debts that rose with their expansion. For instance, Carter is supposed to clear its real estate debt, which is far much the value of the property at the time of acquisition. This implies that there was no proper evaluation of projects before initiation. The state could have implemented the policy effectively by involving specialists and centrally regulating the extension program.

The challenges facing Michigan in relation to the quality of education can be attributed to the deregulation of its system. The state never concentrated on putting in place the guidelines of expanding the chartered schools. Some people took advantage of such weaknesses and opted to use the institutions for financial gain as opposed to service provision to learners. In that regard, the quality of education in the state is poor compared to other well-organized states. To restore the education standards in the state, the government should implement uniform regulations to manage the chartered schools. They should ensure the schools’ primary goal is the provision of services to learners as opposed to profit making.

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